Method of producing ceramic bodies having longitudinal passages



May 2, 1950 v. STOPKA 2,506,244

METHOD OF PRODUCING CERAMIC BODIES HAVING LONGITUDINAL PASSAGES Filed July 9, 1 947 FIG.|

INVENTOR: VIC TOR STOPKA AT Y Patented May 2, 1950 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

METHOD OF PRODUCING CERAMIC BODIES HAVING LONGITUDINAL PASSAGES Viktor Stopka, Hrusov nad Odrou, Czechoslovakia, assignor to Spolek prochemickou a lutni vyrobu, narodni podnik-United Chemical and Metallurgical Works, National Corporation, Prague,

Czechoslovakia Application July 9, 1947, Serial No. 759,919 In Czechoslovakia June 28, 1945 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires J line 28, 1965 6 Claims.

lindrical bodies have usually a diameter between about 40 mm. and 500 mm., or more, and their height is comprised within the limits of about 50 to 100 mm. Within the body there may be pro vided a larger central passage having a diameter of about 10 to mm., or alternatively the body may be constructed without such passage. narrow passages which may be of square, rectangular or circular cross-section, have an internal diameter of about 0.4 to 1 mm. and are closely spaced in order that the flow of gases through the body may be as free as possible. The thick ness of the walls separating the individual passages one from the other should be at most 0.2 to 0.4 mm. For the given purpose it is required to have the bottom and top surfaces of the cylinder ground into exact planes. After the bodies have been burnt, they should have the following characteristics:

1. A high mechanical strength in view of the thin walls between the passages;

2. The drying and burning operations should not lead to the production of cracks in the mass;

3. After th burning operation the passages should remain free and their walls should be as smooth as possible;

4. The material should resist high temperatures up to 1000 0. without damage;

5. The material should have a low coefficient of expansion in orde that the body may support without damage considerable thermal differences and sudden temperature changes within the limits of approximately 400 to 800 degrees centigrade.

For th manufacture of such bodies a ceramic material of the type of hard porcelain has been proposedto which in certain cases further com- The the organic material of the network burns down sothat in the ceramic body there are formed narrow passages parallel to the cylinde axis and extending in the direction of the wooden pins or rods of the network. Finally the two bases of the cylindrical body are ground to plane surfaces.

- The described known method of manufacturing ceramic bodies provided with narrow passages has various disadvantages. During the process of manufacture a thin layer of ceramic mass is formed on the uneven surface of the relatively roughly worked wooden rods and after drying this layer adheres strongly to the rod. During the subsequent burning process said thin layer of ceramic material is caused to separate from the other mass which forms the walls of the passages. After combustion of the carbonized wood the said separated residues of ceramic material, which are of relatively large size, remain in the passages together with the ash from the combustion of the wood, and afte sintering of the ceramic material cause said passages to be clogged. Sometimes the separated portion of ceramic material adheres to the walls of the passages so that these walls are *2 no longer smooth and their free cross-sectional area is reduced so that a considerable resistance is oiiered to the flow of gases.

Moreover the grinding of the bottom and top surfaces of the burnt bodies to exact planes is not practically achievable because the walls between the passages are thin and brittle, so that during the grinding operation they break off and clog the passages.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved method of manufacture which mitigates the above mentioned disadvantages, and to combine a series of steps in a definite sequence, so as to produce bodies which have substantially all the qualities required in such bodies.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by Way of example.

As the basic ceramic mass a hard'porcelain type material is used containing kaolin, 25% quartz and 25% feldspar, or a ceramic material similar to cordierite with 64% kaolin and 36% talc, or preferably a porcelain mass admixed with titanium dioxide TiO2 is used, containing 33% kaolin, 16% feldspar, 16% quartz, 16% talc and 19% titanium dioxide. The ceramic mass should be very finely ground, or levigated and also should contain a certain amount of the so called sharpeners in order to prevent excessive shrinkage during drying and burning and to avoid cracks in the mass. The dry ceramic material should be well mixed and should pass completely through a No. 80 screen having 6400 meshes per square centimeter.

Further additions are made to the ceramic material, viz.: mineralizing agents in a proportion equivalent to 0.01-0.1% of the mass, for instance ammonium molybdate NH4)2M0O3; calcium fluoride CaF2, sodium chloride-Nam, which accelerate the crystallisation of the melt,. so that the so called ageing of the ceramicmaterial after burning does not take place. vMoreover alkaline plastifying agents are added, suchassodium carbonate NazCOs, ammonia NH3 and the like, in a proportion of 0.5-l%, whereby the mass is made suitably liquid with a relatively low content of Water. Such low water content is desirable in order to avoid cracks. being .formed during the drying process. Finally the ceramic mass should contain an organic adhesive, such as dextrin, starch, sulphite lye or the like, which is used preferably in the form of aqueous solution and is added'ina proportion of 2-10% to the water used for mixing-the mass. The-purpose of the adhesive is to secure for the ceramic mass after drying of the same that convenient mechanical strength which is necessary in: order to permit grinding of the two front faces of the cylindrical body to exact planes. In accordance with this invention the grinding is effected; prior to the burning step on bodies that are dried only and" contain a plurality of wooden rods, which are ground: at the same time and: thus prevent splitting of the thinwall's ofthe passages.

As soon' as: a ceramic mass of suitable consistency has been prepared the manufacture itself of the cylindrical bodies may-be initiated. This wi1l now be described'in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a portion of the network to be passed through the ceramic bath;

Fig. 2 illustrates the process of drawing the network through the ceramic bath;

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are'fragmentarycross-sectional views of the coiledbody, respectively, before the grinding operation, after the grinding operation and after the firing operation; and

Fig. 6 is a perspectiveview of the. finished product. i

The network it .is formed of wooden. r01dS1lz| interconnected. by groups of textile. filaments 12, each group consi'stingin the exampleashownin Fig; 1 of threexfilaments. Thenetwork. lsflserves as a base for a coating of ceramidmass. The wooden rcdsJ-i I: which .form the weftof :the'network may be squaregerectangular or, circular in cross-section, of.:hard :or soft wood, the. thickness of the .rodsbeingQd-lmm.

It has been found that the network-I10. should be impregnatediin. order to. avoid direct. contact between the ceramic mass and the network and also to prevent the ceramic mass from sticking on the wooden rods. As. an, additional efifectgthe surface of the woodis made smooth by the impregnation. For such. impregnation, waterrepelling substances are usedysuchasior instance paraffin, asphalt: or certain artificial materials...

The. impregnating substances are used either .in solution in a suitable organic solvent. gasoline or benzene for paraffin, benzenelfor asphalt, .or

preferably in the form of aqueous .emulsions'con taining- 10-15% ofimpregnating substances- The use; of aqueous emulsions has certain advantages over the. use of solutions in organic solvents :mai-nly on account.*ofi..-economy of impregnating 'substanceszand ofexpensive..organicwsolizentsr. In

.pregnated wood during drying and burning of :ramic material separated from their walls.

impregnated; wooden rods in the production of bodies of the. kind specified according to the present invention is of advantage because after the bodies have been burnt the passages in the same have smooth walls and are not clogged with ce- The small amount of ash which remains in the passages after combustion of the wood may be easily removed by knocking or blowing out. Indeed, the ceramic mass does not adhere to the imthe bodies so that the passages remain undisturbed.

Inmanufacturing the bodies the impregnated network it containing: wooden rods II, which network may be taken froma su-pply'reel I3 is first drawn through a container [4 filledwith the liquid ceram'icmass i5 of which a suitable proportion isthus retained on the network l0. The network so wetted is coiledinto a roll. I'G either with a central cavity or without. the same, the first being achievedby winding the web on a core H of suitable diameter. After the roll IB hasbeen so coiled no. air bubblesor pores should -.remain in the interior of the same and the inner space should be entirely filled with ceramic.- mass.

The outer layer of ceramic material formed on the surfaceof the. coiled bodyl.6 should be as thin as possible, and practically such an amount only of ceramicxniaterial. is left on the surface .oi'the bodyas-may be retained on the same by adhesion.

The bodiesso coiled are allowed to stay fora :certainperiod, and then are driedin a dryer at temperatures up to C. When dry the. bodies should. be 'free from cracks. and should have suffic-ient mechanical. strength. .In dried condition :thebodies are groundtoexact planes on the two .endv faces to obtain bodies of the; kind indicated as 1-8 in Fig- 6.. This grinding is preferably carried out by means of grinding tools .on horizontally rotating iron platesto. which ca-rborundum or emery powder is supplied. The ends or the wooden rods. H. in the network l0 within the body It are exposed .bythe grinding operation so that easyliberation of the gaseous constituents from the wood duringthe burnin process is secured. Without such. grinding; before. burning-of the bodies-=the gasesare-notfreeto escape because the ends of the WOOdEIlIIZOdS; are covered with. ceramicmaterial. l9. as shown-in Fig; 3, and the body sufiers-considerable damage. Moreover due to the small thickness. of .the passage walls; 20,, whichis .as. lowas. 0.2-0.4; the burnt. bodies do not vofier suflicient resistance -to grinding; and easily break 01f. During burning of. bodies which have been ground .in dry condition. these draw-backs do: not arise, the gases from :the networki-U. are; :free toescape so: that the wood burns down, and clean-,zfree passages aaeleftafter its; combustion;

When the two end :facesxoi which. only the upper end sfacea i'i: :is. shown 'in the. drawing have been ground, therbndies. "l:& are subjectedito the burning operation lllllng-'WhlCh. they should be protectedtinlshells. .In'this operation the bodies 1:8; may rest: on. a support; made .of the. :sameunhurnt. ceramicmaterial of which thegbodiesrthemselvesaare made. The burningisefliectedzin the usual; way, denendingxon the ceramicmaterial used, atl'a'temperature up to sintering tempera.- ture. The burning operation is carried out first at low speed without access of air up to the moment when the enclosed network has been degasified and then the bodies are further burnt in the presence of air in order that the carbonized network and the adhesive may burn down. The pores produced by the combustion of the adhesive are again closed when the material is sintered so that the finished body does not become porous. On the other hand the passages 22 remain clean with smooth walls and are not clogged at all. After burning and cooling the bodiesv 18 are ready for use and do not require any-iurther treatment.

i'Aiiother" feature 01' the invention consists in assembling disc shaped bodies of larger diameter composedof individual sections. Bodies of large diameter lead to difiiculties during the drying, grinding' and burning an for; this reason such bodies arejassembled Of IindividuaI sections having-thdshape of hexagonal-regular prisms, sectorsoi hollow cylinder :orfother suitable shapes. The individual bodies are'then assembled to final shape and are cemente d'together by means of a suitable tcement consisting, for example, of water glass, powdered talc and titanium dioxide.

. whatlclaim is: '1. A method of producing a cylindrical body of ceramic material provided with narrow passages parallel to the axis or said body, which is relr'actory and resistant (to sudden temperature changes, the method comprising the combination oi the following stepszfadding to a basic ceramic mass selected from the ,group'of materials con sisting of hard porcelain, cordierite, and porcelain material with the addition of titanium dioxide mineralizing and plastifying agents and adhesives; drawing a web of network, the wel't'ofv which is formed by; wooden rods impregnated with water-repelling;substances, through said ceramicmass while liquid so as to apply ceramic material to said network: winding said network carrying the ceramic material into a roll to form a a cylindrical body; drying said body, grinding said body, when dried, on its two end faces to exact; planes so as to expose the ends or said 6 wooden rods at said faces; and firing said dried cylindrical body first without access oi air, and then in the presence of air to the point 01 sinter- 2. A method of producing a body with longitudinal passages in it, said method comprising the following steps: preparing a fluid adhesive ceramic mass comprising a member of the group consisting of hard porcelain, cordierite, and porcelain material with the addition of titanium dioxide; immersing in said mass a web of network including a series of longitudinal wooden rods so that the ceramic mass adheres to the web, coiling the web and adhering mass into a roll, drying said roll, grinding fiat the ends of the dried roll so as to expose the ends of the wooden rods; heating the roll to sinter the ceramic mass and burn out the wooden rods, whereby a ceramic body having longitudinal passages is obtained.

3. A method of producing a composite body with longitudinal passages in it, which method I said ceramic mass comprises approximately 64% kaolin and 36% talc.

VIKTOR STOPKA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Patent No. 2,506,244 May 2, 1950 Certificate of Correction VIKTOR STOPKA It is hereby certified that the name of the assignee in the above numbered patent was erroneously described and specified as Spolek pro chemickou a lutni vyrobu, narodni podnik-United Chemical and Metallurgical Works, National Corporation whereas said name should have been described and specified as Spolek pro chemickou a hutml oyrobu, narodml podm'k-United Chemical and Metallurgical Works, National Corporation; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oflice.

Signed and sealed this 19th day of September, A. D. 1950.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Commissioner of Patents. 

